''Mystery Woman'' is a 1935 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Eugene Forde Eugene Forde (1898–1986) was an American film director. Selected filmography * ''Daredevil's Reward'' (1928) * ''Painted Post (film), Painted Post'' (1928) * ''Son of the Golden West'' (1928) * ''Charlie Chan's Courage'' (1934) * ''Charlie Ch ...

and written by

Philip MacDonald Philip MacDonald (5 November 1900 – 10 December 1980) was a British-born writer of fiction and screenplays, best known for Thriller (genre), thrillers. Life and work MacDonald was born in London, the son of author Ronald MacDonald and actress ...

. The film stars

Mona Barrie Mona Barrie (born Mona Barlee Smith; 18 December 1909 – 27 June 1964) was an English-born actress, active on stage in Australia before establishing a career in the US, and in Hollywood films. Career Born Mona Barlee Smith in London to comedi ...

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

, John Halliday,

Rod La Rocque Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mo ...

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russians, Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in fi ...

and

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

. The film was released on January 8, 1935,

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

Plot

Top-secret documents being transported by French captain Jacques Benoit are stolen in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, resulting in his arrest and sentencing to

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953 in the Salvation Islands ...

. Determined to vindicate him, wife Margaret learns that Jacques had met wealthy Dr. Van Wyke in transit. Suspecting him, she books passage on an ocean liner to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

under an assumed name and schemes to meet Van Wyke during the voyage. Attracting romantic interest from passenger Juan Santanda as well as from Van Wyke, she finds the stolen documents and tries to hide them. Santanda turns out to be a jewel thief. When she explains her true identity and purpose, he uses a blowtorch to open a safe and help her retrieve the documents, then sacrifices his own life when she is trapped, staying behind as he and Van Wyke kill one another. Jacques Benoit is released and presented the Legion of Honor medal.

Cast

as Margaret Benoit *

as Juan Santanda * John Halliday as Dr. Theodore Van Wyke *

as Jacques Benoit *

as Dmitri *

as Jepson *

William Faversham William FavershamBlum, Daniel (c. 1954). ''Great Stars of the American Stage''. "Profile No. 46". 2nd ed. (12 February 1868 – 7 April 1940) was an English stage and film actor, manager, and producer. Biography He was born in London. As a t ...

as Cambon *

Howard Lang Howard Lang (born Donald Yarranton; 20 March 1911 – 11 December 1989) was an English actor known for playing Captain William Baines in the BBC nautical drama ''The Onedin Line''. Early life Lang was born in Marylebone, London, the son of Edw ...

as Bergstrom *

George Barraud George Barraud (17 December 1889, in Paddington, London, England – January 1970, in London, England) was a British film actor. Selected filmography * '' Little Old New York'' (1923) * '' Flaming Youth'' (1923) * '' The Wolf Man'' (1924) * ''Ne ...

as Stanton *

Arno Frey Arnold Frey (11 October 1900 – 26 June 1961) was a German actor who portrayed the Nazi villain Dr. Lang in the Frank Buck movie ''Tiger Fangs'' (1943). Biography Frey arrived in the United States in October 1926, according to the New Yor ...

as Schultz

References

External links

* 1935 films Fox Film films American thriller films 1930s thriller films Films directed by Eugene Forde American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-thriller-film-stub